The Federal Reserve announced interest rate reduction of .25 percent on Wednesday 29 October 2025. Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace.
Next week, The Highland Council will be hosting members of the North Sea Commission Transport Group. As part of the visit, members will be taken on a site visit to the Port of Nigg before gathering the next day in Inverness for their meeting.
The Cameron Barracks in Inverness has been identified by the Home Office (UK Government) as one of two military sites where around 900 men will be temporarily housed (the other site in England). Of those 900, approximately 300 are expected to be placed at the Inverness site from a phased start in early December 2025, and for up to 12 months.
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, Kate Forbes MSP, has announced the appointment of Angus Campbell as Chair of the Board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). The appointment is for three years from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2028.
Eastern Airways has suspended all its flights with immediate effect and cancelled its entire scheduled network. The company filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator under UK insolvency law, which gives the airline up to 10 business days of protection from creditors while rescue/ restructuring options are explored.
Scotland's council tax system has long been criticised as outdated, inequitable, and distorted. The recently published report "Revaluation and Reform of Council Tax in Scotland: design considerations and potential impacts" published on 27 October 2025 offers a thoughtful analysis of how to rework the system.
Several recent announcements and plans give a clear picture of how much is being committed to the UK's electricity grid infrastructure: The regulator Ofgem has provisionally approved around £24 billion of investment over the five-year period 2026-31 in energy networks (both electricity and gas). Of that, approximately £8.9 billion is earmarked for high-voltage electricity transmission networks right away, with a further £1.3 billion of ‘use-it or lose-it' funding available.
More than quarter of a million families to receive letters confirming they will get £150 off their energy bills this winter through the Warm Home Discount. More than 250,000 families to receive confirmation of £150 discount off their energy bill due to extra help from Government.
Based on recent and upcoming legislation, renters in Scotland have greater security of tenure and a clearer path for challenging rent increases compared to the new rules being introduced in England. England's Renters' Rights Act aims to bring its protections closer to the Scottish system, but key differences remain.
The consulting firm Accenture recently laid off 11,000 employees while expanding its efforts to train workers to use artificial intelligence. It's a sharp reminder that the same technology driving efficiency is also redefining what it takes to keep a job.
The Trump administration's widespread cancellation and freezing of clean energy funding is also hitting essential work to improve the nation's power grid. That includes investments in grid modernization, energy storage and efforts to protect communities from outages during extreme weather and cyberattacks.
The Scottish Government today published the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2024. The publication details statistics on the employment and production from Scottish fish farms.
China's £1.5bn project creates showdown between national security and local economic goals. The economic case is compelling.
According to freedom-of-information type data analysed by the Scottish Conservatives, 36 hospitals across Scotland have never been inspected by HIS. A further 29 hospitals have not been inspected in the past five years.
A PLAN to ensure the Highlands maximises the benefits of billions of pounds in infrastructure investment is being launched by Deputy First Minster Kate Forbes. The Workforce North Action Plan for The Highland Council area brings together a range of local and national partners with key employers to drive co-investment and collaboration.
In October 2025, Baillie visited Wick and met campaigners from the Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT). She described the midwife-led unit at Caithness General Hospital as "exceptional, really professional and I would have no qualms about giving birth there.".
Welsh communities are benefiting from significant defence investment that is backing high-quality careers across the nation. £1.1 billion annual defence expenditure with industry in Wales supporting 3,900 directly supported industry jobs.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the proposed changes to scrap jobseeker's allowance (JSA) and employment support allowance (ESA). Instead, the DWP will create one unemployment insurance (UI) benefit could save between £2 billion and £3 billion a year.
There are several signs that wages could be driven up in the Highland region (and the wider Highlands & Islands) of Scotland but it's not a guarantee. The scale/timing of any wage rise depends on a number of factors.
Flawed contract design and incompetent delivery left the Home Office unable to cope with the surge in demand for asylum accommodation, a report by the Home Affairs Committee has found. Hotels went from a temporary stop-gap to the go-to solution for asylum accommodation, leading to a failed system that is expensive, unpopular with local communities and unsuitable for asylum seekers.